Category Archives: Healthcare

Blog: Medicaid Expansion: Much to Celebrate, Much Still to Do

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Blog: Medicaid Expansion: Much to Celebrate, Much Still to Do

Ellen Albritton
Dec 17, 2012

On Thursday, November 29, 2012, a broad coalition of advocates in Missouri, including many NETWORK members, had much to celebrate, as Governor Jay Nixon publicly announced his support for Medicaid expansion in Missouri and his inclusion of it in his 2014 budget! NETWORK agrees with Governor Nixon that “It’s the smart thing to do, and it’s the right thing to do,” as not only will the expansion provide life-saving health coverage to many hardworking Missouri families, but it is also expected to create 24,000 jobs in the state.

Gov. Nixon’s announcement was unexpected news to many, as he has been non-committal regarding provisions of the Affordable Care Act throughout his 2012 re-election campaign. Prior to the November 6 election, NETWORK members and Missouri “Nuns on the Bus” participants made a trip to Jefferson City to meet with Governor Nixon’s budget director, encouraging him to ask Governor Nixon to include the Medicaid expansion in his budget for 2014. These NETWORK members are part of a wide coalition of Medicaid expansion supporters in Missouri, including the Missouri Hospital Association and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among many others.

While we certainly celebrate this significant success, we know there is still much work to be done. Many state Republicans, who have a super majority in both the Missouri House and Senate, have voiced their strong opposition to the Medicaid expansion. Additionally, most other states have either rejected the expansion or have yet to make a decision. Governor Nixon’s unexpected announcement shows us the power that citizens can have when they take action, so we are calling on all our members and supporters to “get on the bus” and lobby their governors and state legislators across the nation to support the expansion.

If you are interested in standing up for the millions living below 133% of the federal poverty line who could gain access to health coverage through the Medicaid expansion, please check out our Medicaid expansion toolkit athttps://www.networklobby.org/nuns-bus-medicaid-expansion or email me at [email protected].

Blog: March 31st is the Deadline to Enroll in Health Insurance: Are You, Your Family, and Your Friends Covered?

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March 31st is the Deadline to Enroll in Health Insurance: Are You, Your Family, and Your Friends Covered?

Shantha Ready Alonso
Mar 10, 2014

I hope you’ve got your calendar open because you’re going to want to draw a big circle around March 31st.That’s the final deadline for anyone who is uninsured to get health coverage, and avoid having to pay a fine for not having health insurance. Purchasing health insurance is a big decision, and while you decide on whether to sign up or encourage a friend to sign up today, consider this: Nearly six in 10 uninsured Americans could payless than $100 per month for health care coverage.

To find out what benefits are available for you and your family, please visit www.healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325).  Open enrollment ends Monday, March 31st 

Please see below for a quick rundown on the most important things to know:

El 31 de Marzo es el Dia Final Para Conseguir Seguro de Salud: ¿Tiene Cobertura para si Mismo, su Familia, y sus Amigos?

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El 31 de Marzo es el Dia Final Para Conseguir Seguro de Salud: ¿Tiene Cobertura para si Mismo, su Familia, y sus Amigos?

Shantha Ready Alonso
Mar 10, 2014

Ojala que tenga abierta su calendario, porque Usted necesite marcar el 31 de marzo con un gran círculo. Eso es el día final para inscribirse en un plan de seguro de salud en 2014. Bajo la nueva ley, todos los ciudadanos estadounidenses tienen que tener seguro de salud, o pagar una multa. Comprar seguro de salud es una gran decision, y mientras que decide si va a inscribirse or alentar a un amigo/a para inscribirse, piense en un facto: Seis en cada diez personas que no tiene seguro de salud califica por planes que cuestan menos que $100 dólares cada mes.

Para saber cuáles beneficios están disponibles para usted y su familia, por favor visite awww.cuidadodesalud.gov o llame al 1-800-318-2596  (TTY: 1-855-889-4325).  El período de inscripción termina el 31 de marzo.

 

Por favor vea a continuación un resumen rápido de los puntos más importantes:

• Las pólizas no pueden negar a las personas con condiciones pre-existentes: https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/es/what-if-i-have-a-pre-existing-health-condition/

• Las pólizas deben cubrir los servicios de salud preventiva: https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/es/what-are-my-preventive-care-benefits/

• Qué niveles de ingresos califican para una prima más baja:  https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/es/how-can-i-save-money-on-marketplace-coverage/

• Cuánto es la multa por no tener cobertura en el 2014 y más allá:  https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/es/what-if-someone-doesnt-have-health-coverage-in-2014/

• Exenciones de la multa:  https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/es/exemptions/

• Cinco niveles de cobertura al escoger: https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/es/how-do-i-choose-marketplace-insurance/

Blog: What’s at Stake in the Supreme Court’s Latest Case Considering the Issue of Subsidies in the Affordable Care Act

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What’s at Stake in the Supreme Court’s Latest Case Considering the Issue of Subsidies in the Affordable Care Act

By Caroline Burstein
February 13, 2015

In less than three weeks (on March 4) the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of King v. Burwell – with a decision expected in late spring/early summer. Too few people realize how high the stakes are. Before considering the stakes, let’s be sure we understand the fundamental issues.

Simply put, without the legalese, the Supreme Court will hear the claim that federal tax credits – or what is often referred to as “subsidies” – should be available only for health plans sold through insurance exchanges run by the states, not for plans sold through an exchange run by the federal government for the state. Currently there are 37 states that offer health plans using this latter method, commonly called federally-facilitated marketplaces.

Key to understanding the arguments of the plaintiffs – four Virginia residents – is whether the IRS can offer federal tax credits or subsidies to those who purchase health plans through federally-facilitated marketplaces. The plaintiffs contend that the exact language in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not allow the IRS to grant tax credits to states that refused to set up their own exchanges. The language at issue is surely a drafting glitch, according to Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times. To take it literally “would make a hash of the entire law.”

Significantly, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) maintains that the ACA does indeed allow for these subsidies, otherwise the entire purpose of the ACA would be frustrated.

In hundreds of previous cases the Supreme Court has deferred to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of the law. The Court, therefore, seems to have a settled approach to statutory interpretation (certainly not constitutional interpretation). Why would this case be any different?

Four former Senate staffers, heavily involved in drafting the law in 2009-10, have recently (February 3, 2015) written an article in Politico that refutes the “language” arguments of the plaintiffs by clearly stating that the federal exchange is the “functional equivalent” of a state exchange in every way.

They and others say that the possibility that residents of states that did not set up their own exchanges would not be entitled to tax credits was never raised during debate on the bill and never part of any version of the ACA. No one in Congress appears to have believed at the time that the law would reject any qualified beneficiaries. If opponents of the law are to be believed, Congress intended to threaten states that did not set up their own marketplaces with a healthcare death spiral, but never communicated this threat. This is patently absurd.

It is not plausible that states would be given a choice to set up an exchange or default to the federal government if it meant that in choosing the second scenario their citizens would lose the right to tax subsidies that enable them to afford insurance. The law says states are given a choice. Did Congress deliberately aim to punish states that didn’t establish their own insurance exchanges? Hardly.

Linda Greenhouse, a lawyer writing in the New York Times on February 5, 2015, clarified for non-lawyers that every justice subscribes to the fact that statutory language has to be understood in context. She quotes statements made by several of the current justices, but the one by Justice Scalia caught my eye: “When we look at a provision of law, we look at the entire provision of law, including later amendments. We try to make sense of the law as a whole.” One cannot expect that an acontextual reading of the law will win the day in the Supreme Court.

Greenhouse mentions a fascinating brief filed in support of the government’s position by 23 attorneys general from states both with and without marketplace exchanges (including the Virginia attorney general’s office) that indicates that the plaintiffs’ side would “violate basic principles of cooperative federalism by surprising the states with a dramatic hidden consequence of their exchange election.”

It’s possible to argue that the language in the ACA statute regarding tax credits is ambiguous, but the foregoing discussion concerning congressional intent, the context of the law, HHS’s interpretation of the ACA, the strong belief that federally-run exchanges serve as surrogates of the state, and the principles of cooperative federalism all indicate that the merits of the case rest with the ACA as implemented.

An article in the New Republic provides some additional fodder for supporters of the ACA. An adverse ruling would cause immense damage to powerful corporate interests (as we’ll see in the next section of this blog) like private insurance companies, hospitals and other stakeholders who oppose the challenge to the law.

Above all, the Roberts Court is a business-friendly court. Roberts has been friendly to the Chamber of Commerce and it would certainly besmirch his reputation if a decision effectively begins a market death-spiral in healthcare. Furthermore, an adverse ruling would be politically damaging to the Republicans who, despite numerous attempts, have never been able to coalesce around an ACA alternative. And Republican legislatures and governors who have not supported the ACA would be likely to feel their residents’ backlash.

Many experts agree that the plaintiffs’ case is quite weak. So, what’s at stake if the decision goes against the ACA? The list is not pretty:

  • If tax credits are rescinded, affordable health insurance for nearly 5 million Americans  (Hiltzik’s estimate, mentioned in the LA Times, but the health law’s 2015 season is still underway) currently receiving subsidies in the 37 affected states would be ended
  • Droves of healthy people would leave HealthCare.gov
  • Americans who have lost their subsidies and are trying to buy individual policies outside the government market would face prices they could not afford
  • Those paying for insurance on their own would face a significant jump in premiums, and this would affect employer-based health insurance as well
  • Women and children who constitute the vast majority of those in the federally-run marketplaces would be disproportionately affected, according to a January 2015 Issue Brief of the National Partnership for Women and Families. The ACA is particularly crucial for women, who tend to live longer, have unique reproductive health needs, and visit their care providers more often, compared to men
  • Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and New Jersey are among the states with the most to lose, but even blue states with their own marketplaces would be affected since many insurance companies are nationwide in scope, according to the PBS NewsHour.

In short, the market for affordable healthcare will spiral downward as more and more people and companies are unable to pay skyrocketing premiums. This describes the very “death spiral” that the ACA was designed to prevent.

For those who enjoy and better identify with “human Interest” stories, the Center for American Progress (CAP) has been releasing a total of nine (one for each justice) stories of real people over the past several weeks. These are people who would be tangibly affected by the King v. Burwell decision. The latest three stories were released on February 11.

NETWORK’s belief is that all people should have access to affordable, quality and comprehensive insurance in order to promote their economic stability and the health of their families. We believe that healthcare is a shared responsibility that is grounded in our common humanity. We acknowledge our enduring responsibility to care for one another and to recognize that we are whole only when the most vulnerable among us is cared for. We are witnessing an attack on a law that goes a long way toward sharing our abundant healthcare resources with millions of people who could not otherwise afford it. We invite everyone to join in prayerful action so that the ACA will be strengthened, not weakened and eventually ruined by the Supreme Court action. As this paper notes, there are many positive signs that justice will prevail.

Why We Need to Fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Now!

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Why We Need to Fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Now!

By Carolyn Burstein
March 02, 2015

Funding for CHIP runs out at the end of this fiscal year (September 30, 2015) and without its renewal almost every state will be affected. This is because CHIP is a block grant program in which nearly all states have opted to participate. (The exception is Arizona, which left the program in Jan. 2014).

In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, Hillary Clinton and former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist remind us that more than four-fifths of state legislatures complete their budgets (some for the next two fiscal years) and end their sessions by the end of June —some like Virginia and Maryland by March or April. They must be operating on the assumption that renewed funding will be forthcoming, but given so many contingencies in the healthcare field, there is no certainty. We must assure that renewed funding does occur and our advocacy must start now.

Why is CHIP so important, now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has become law? A significant gap that exists in the ACA is the “Family Glitch.” As CBS News describes it, this prevents families from receiving subsidies if the employer of one of the adults is offered “affordable coverage.” “Affordable” is defined as less than 9.5% of household income for that adult alone, regardless of how many members may be in the family. For many families, CHIP may be the only viable option for insuring their children.

Perhaps now we can understand why the ACA extended authority for CHIP through 2019 (though no funding was provided beyond fiscal year 2015). Over the next several months there will be extensive debate about the continued need and funding for CHIP, expected to cost about $10 billion over four years. Forty governors have written to members of Congress urging quick action on reauthorizing CHIP. Indeed, CHIP has always had bipartisan support.

CHIP was first enacted in 1997 in response to the needs of millions of children who lacked health insurance. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) were both strong supporters of this legislation and still are. Sen. Hatch has said that continued funding for CHIP is “must-do” legislation and is one of three sponsors of a Republican discussion paper on the reauthorization of CHIP, and Sen. Mikulski is one of the early co-sponsors of S. 522, a Democratic bill introduced in the Senate on February 12.

As a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, CHIP began and continues life as a block grant program (rather than a new federal entitlement program), in which the federal government disburses funds to the states but gives them the flexibility to meet the needs of their own children and families.

When CHIP was reauthorized in 2009 (after stop-gap funding in 2007 and 2008), it contained provisions for improved health benefits such as pediatric dental care and better data collection. It gave new emphasis to quality measurements, and addressed the issue of shortfalls in state funding.

For the past 17 years, CHIP has been a reliable source of insurance coverage for kids whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford private health insurance. CHIP has achieved phenomenal results in reducing the number of uninsured children, so that today we can boast that 93% of America’s children have healthcare coverage, despite the increase in the number of children living in poverty in the last few years.

The Kaiser Family Foundation examined studies completed before mid-2014 on the impact of CHIP and Medicaid. The Foundation concluded that children from low-income families not only have better access to primary, specialist, dental and preventive care and fewer unmet health needs than uninsured kids, but also experience fewer avoidable hospitalizations. Most importantly, child mortality rates are significantly lower among the Medicaid/CHIP group. In addition, low-income parents have positive impressions of their children’s insurers.

With guaranteed dental coverage, children have access to oral health, which plays a significant role in a child’s development and overall wellbeing. “Poor oral health affects a child’s self-confidence, including a child’s willingness to speak, smile, and play, potentially impacting socialization and emotional health” according to Dr. Paul O. Walker, DDS in the February 5, 2015 issue of The Hill. Moreover, Dr. Walker says that CHIP patients who see a dentist prior to their fourth birthday require less dental work than those who do not, claiming that preventive care is indeed a valuable commodity. Finally, Dr. Walker maintains that such access to a dentist at an early age helps reduce costly emergency room visits, health complications and the long-term costs associated with serious gum disease.

It should be clear that the above-listed benefits of CHIP contribute to meaningful gains in access to care as well as to the quality of care for low-income children.

The Democratic bills submitted in the House and Senate include basic CHIP coverage as well as additional benefits for the more than 8 million children enrolled in CHIP, including:

  • Extending the CHIP contingency fund to protect states that may experience a funding shortfall and including the ACA’s 23% matching rate increase
  • Extending access to pediatric dental care
  • Extending and updating performance bonuses referred to as the “Performance Incentive Program”
  • Extending the Pediatric Quality Measures Program
  • Extending the CHIP obesity and quality demonstration projects
  • Extending outreach and offering enrollment grants for simplifying eligibility and its renewal
  • Encouraging the adoption of promising strategies and best practices
  • Extending the SNAP waiver authority for streamlined eligibility determinations

The Republican discussion paper submitted by Senators Orrin Hatch, Fred Upton (R-MI) and Joe Pitts (R-PA), almost two weeks after the Democrats submitted their bills, also calls for reauthorization of CHIP through 2019, but there are numerous differences in the content. We are hopeful that discussion and dialogue among Congressional members will reduce the disparities in the issues dividing the parties and that the welfare of children will be placed in the forefront of all discussions.

If bipartisan agreement is not reached and CHIP funding is not renewed, as many as two million children will lose their current coverage (Hillary-Frist op-ed). In the state of Texas alone, 335,000 youngsters would be affected (along with their families), according to the Dallas News.

Failure by Congress to act would have repercussions on the states. If each state attempted to resolve the issue of children’s health insurance, as some might try, it would put a huge dent in their state budgets.

Since CHIP, from its inception, has always been a bipartisan issue, let us work to achieve the type of compromises that legislators on both sides of the aisle can support. It is the task of NETWORK and its supporters to advocate for the most vulnerable members of our society, and none are more vulnerable than children. They and their families deserve to live in the dignity of knowing that healthcare is available when needed.

[This New York Times editorial includes more information about current CHIP proposals on the Hill.]

Blog: Happy Fifth Birthday to the Affordable Care Act – One Giant Step Forward to Healthcare for All

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Blog: Happy Fifth Birthday to the Affordable Care Act – One Giant Step Forward to Healthcare for All

Laura Peralta-Schulte
Mar 23, 2015

Today we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and declare once and for all that the ACA is a SUCCESS.

Unlike the hysteria that surrounded its passage, with critics arguing that it would destroy the U.S. economy, leading to job loss, the fact is that our economy is stronger, jobs are growing, and Americans are more healthcare secure than they have ever been.

Let’s look at the facts.

To date, 16.4 million U.S. families and individuals who were previously uninsured are now covered.  The rates of the uninsured have declined across races and ethnicities since October 2013, with a greater drop among blacks (9.2 percentage points) and Latinos (12.3 percentage points) than among whites, who had the lowest rate of those uninsured (14.3 percent) to start.

Today, millions of young adults under 26 have greater health security because they can stay on their parents’ insurance while they finish school or begin a career.

Today, there are financial protections in place if you face severe illness so Americans don’t risk losing their house or bankruptcy because they get sick.  Further, insurers can no longer discriminate against Americans with preexisting medical conditions by refusing to provide coverage or dropping coverage when folks get sick.

Today, we celebrate the fact that insurers can’t charge higher premiums if you are a woman and can’t sell substandard plans that don’t pay for essential health care benefits.

Today, we celebrate the fact that healthcare inflation is at the lowest level in 50 years and that slow growth in healthcare spending has substantially improved the long-term federal budget outlook.  According to the most recent projections, healthcare spending growth is the lowest on record with real per capita spending growing at an estimated average annual rate of just 1.3% over the three years since 2010.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reduced its projections of future Medicare and Medicaid spending in 2020 by $147 billion (0.6% of GDP) since August 2010. This represents about a 10% reduction in projected spending on these programs.

With all the good news, why is it that the Republican budgets call for the elimination of the Affordable Care Act?  On the fiftieth Anniversary of both Medicaid and Medicare, why are they proposing draconian cuts to Medicaid potentially eliminating coverage for millions of Americans and a fundamental restructuring of Medicare?  We also live with the real possibility that the Supreme Court, in the King v. Burwell case now before it, may narrowly interpret the ACA provisions related to expanding Medicaid to the states, with the effect of millions people losing coverage.

Our Catholic faith teaches that quality, affordable healthcare is a social good and basic human right.  NETWORK has called for universal access to a health system that serves all people, especially the most vulnerable.  Healing was central to the ministry of Jesus, and our commitment to providing quality healthcare is our nation’s means of carrying out our enduring responsibility to nurture the dignity of every person.  We must fight any effort to roll back healthcare coverage.

At the same time, as we celebrate the important milestones for the ACA, Medicare and Medicaid, we must remember that our work to provide healthcare insurance to all Americans is not yet complete.  We insist that Congress immediately renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for four years.  We insist that states expand Medicaid in states that have refused to provide coverage to families living in their states.

We must continue all efforts until everyone has quality, affordable health insurance.

Blog: Mary Ann’s Story Reminds Us Why ACA Enrollment Matters

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Mary Ann’s Story Reminds Us Why ACA Enrollment Matters

By Mary McClure
December 14, 2015

As you may know, we are nearing the end of Open Enrollment season, when individuals and families can sign up for health insurance. In fact, December 15, the last day to enroll for January 1 coverage, is quickly approaching. Despite some politicians’ efforts repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), NETWORK continues to uplift and support the pro-life policy that made healthcare accessible to millions who were previously uninsured.

We continue to hear stories from people whose lives were changed because they had access to healthcare. Recently I re-read one of these, the story of Mary Ann Wasil, which was first told in the NETWORK Connection magazine (First Quarter 2014, p. 4-6).

At 39, Mary Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer despite having no family history of the disease. Mary Ann, a mother of three girls, needed a mastectomy and chemotherapy to save her life. During her chemotherapy, she suffered a stroke, which required additional surgery. At the same time, Mary Ann’s marriage was ending. She had made the decision years ago to leave her job as a police officer to raise her daughters; she had held a few part-time jobs since then which never had benefits.

In 2011, seven years after her initial diagnosis, her cancer returned. The end of her marriage meant she no longer had health insurance, and with a “preexisting condition,” both Mary Ann and her children were uninsurable. The chemotherapy for her second round of cancer cost around $25,000 per session. The Affordable Care Act was lifesaving legislation for Mary Ann, who was able to find an affordable healthcare plan through her state’s marketplace that covered her despite her preexisting condition.

What a blessing that so many lives have been saved through affordable access to healthcare! Thousands of moms, dads, grandparents, and others are also gaining this coverage by enrolling in health insurance for 2016. If you have not signed up for an insurance plan, it’s not too late to gain January 1 coverage: enrollees have until December 15 to sign up and avoid the penalty.

These plans can be affordable. Many people are eligible for tax credits or financial assistance and many plans are $75 or less per month. While the website may seem overwhelming, free and confidential help is available from trained, local professionals.

With the Affordable Care Act, millions of people have gained health insurance through the marketplace and through Medicaid expansion. NETWORK continues to advocate for and celebrate pro-healthcare legislation, working towards the day when healthcare is genuinely affordable and accessible to people of all income levels, with particular concern for the most vulnerable members of our community.

Blog: 10 Things Speaker Ryan Could Do to Address Poverty Right Now

10 Things Speaker Ryan Could Do to Address Poverty Right Now

NETWORK Lobby
June 7, 2016

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice welcomes anyone, any time, to the conversation about how to make sure no one in the United States lives in poverty. But we strongly dispute the claim that this is a deeply complicated problem requiring a brand new agenda, such as the one likely to be presented by Speaker Paul Ryan in the coming days. The fact is Congress knows, and has always known, how to end poverty. It is simply not that difficult, in the richest country the world has ever known, to create an inclusive economy where everyone has the resources to live with dignity.

In fact, we could do much of it as early as tomorrow.

Toward that end, we offer Speaker Ryan, the driving force behind the Republican “anti-poverty” agenda, 10 things he could bring to the House Floor tomorrow that would actually work. This is not everything that has to be done to mend the gaps in the fabric of our society, but it’s a darn good start.

  1. Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour — Even as the economic recovery has brought lower unemployment, too many people working full-time jobs (or even two or three of them) don’t make enough to get by. A study by the National Employment Law Project found that $15/hour was the lowest wage that would still allow a single worker to meet the basic cost of living just about everywhere in the United States. Speaker Ryan could help lift thousands of workers out of poverty by passing H.R. 3164, the Pay Workers a Living Wage Act introduced in Congress last year.
  2. Guarantee paid sick leave — 49% of workers in America still lack paid sick leave and are forced to choose between losing the salary they desperately need and jeopardizing their health and the health of those around them. After passing a comprehensive paid sick leave policy New York City found not only that it improved the health and financial security of workers, but also that unemployment dropped and businesses grew.The Healthy Families Act (H.R. 932) was introduced in Congress more than a year ago. There’s no excuse not to pass this legislation today.
  3. Guarantee paid family leave — In addition to ensuring that everyone has the ability to take a sick day to care for themselves or their family, we must also guarantee paid leave for new parents and those who have to take extended time to care for a sick family member. Only 5% of workers in the lowest 25% wage category have access to paid family leave, compared to 22% of workers in the highest 10% wage category. The FAMILY Act (H.R. 1439), introduced in Congress last year, builds on successful legislation passed by cities and states around the country to create an insurance program that provides workers with the family leave they need.
  4. Expand and protect the Earned Income Tax Credit — The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of our most effective anti-poverty programs. It provides tax relief to low-income workers to ensure that no one who labors to earn a basic wage is taxed back into poverty. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the EITC helped lift 6.2 million people out of poverty in 2013. But the current law overlooks too many workers in need, including those low income workers without children and workers under 25 or over 65. Speaker Ryan himself discussed his support for addressing these gaps when he was Chairman of the House Budget Committee, now he has the means and the opportunity to make those changes today.
  5. Expand childcare subsidies — The high cost of quality childcare takes a dramatic toll on low-income families across the country. A report from theEconomic Policy Institute found that in every state, quality childcare cost more than 30% of a minimum-wage worker’s earnings. Access to high quality childcare allows parents to support their families and better prepares children to learn and grow into healthy adults. We shouldn’t ask people to choose between their kids and their paychecks — H.R. 4524, the Child CARE Act, is one way that Speaker Ryan could solve that problem.
  6. Ban the box — It’s no secret that admitting to having a criminal record is the kiss of death for job applicants. Conviction records are likely to reduce the prospect of a job offer or interview by almost 50%. There are currently 70 million people in America with arrest or conviction records, we are only just beginning to realize the massive economic implications of discriminating against the people who are reentering society and the workforce. Passing the Fair Chance Act (H.R. 3470) would allow people seeking to reenter the workforce the opportunity to apply based on merit, without facing discrimination.
  7. Pass immigration reform with a path to citizenship — For the millions of people who live in the U.S. without documentation or with only temporary permission to work, finding stable employment can be nearly impossible. Many more immigrants are barred from accessing the social programs they need because of decades of anti-immigrant legislation. By allowing immigrants to come out of the shadows and fully participate in society, immigration reform would benefit individual families and our community; the CBO estimated that immigration reform would reduce our federal budget deficit by $200 billion over ten years. H.R. 13, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, had the votes to become law in 2014 and is a viable solution to fixing our broken immigration system. Speaker Ryan should work with his fellow members of Congress to pass real immigration reform now.
  8. Expand eligibility and opportunity for low-income housing units — There is a significant shortage of affordable housing units across the country. Bipartisan legislation in the Senate rumored to be introduced in the House of Representatives (The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act) would incentivize the building and preservation of almost 1.3 million homes. Speaker Ryan can move forward with his commitment to end poverty by developing a housing plan that focuses on ensuring that everyone has a home.
  9. Continue to make healthcare more affordable — The Affordable Care Act was a critical step toward making sure that all Americans can access the healthcare they need, but it stopped short of realizing the goal of universal healthcare. H.R.3241, the State-Based Universal Health Care Act of 2015, would allow states more flexibility and freedom to work toward universal healthcare. Speaker Ryan can move forward today to ensure that no one lives in the healthcare gap and take a powerful step toward alleviating the economic uncertainty and financial burden of families still left without health insurance.
  10. Reauthorize and improve the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act — The landmark legislation that helps feed children in schools across the country has been under attack by congressional Republicans. Congress has sought to cut the number of schools eligible to feed all of their students and increase the amount of time and effort schools must put into qualifying for the program. Beyond these initial changes that will kick thousands of students out of the program, Republicans in Congress want to replace the entire program with ‘block grants’ that will seriously jeopardize our ability to feed children in need. Congress has an opportunity to improve child nutrition programs to feed more children who are hungry. If Speaker Ryan wants to lead on poverty, he can start by leading his party away from policies that take food from children.

As NETWORK’s Nuns on the Bus reminded Congressman Ryan in 2012, to implement programs that work to eliminate poverty, Congress must have the political will to raise reasonable revenue for these responsible programs. We can pay for these programs by closing tax loopholes and having the courage to fix our broken tax system. Right now, a loophole in tax law allows hedge fund managers to call a portion of their earnings a ‘capital gain’ instead of ‘income’ and that small difference costs the nation billions in tax revenue every year. The Carried Interest Fairness Act (H.R. 2889) is one such piece of legislation that promotes tax fairness in the United States.

Creative solutions to solving poverty are necessary, but we don’t need to look far to find the answers. What if — instead of giving the billionaires another break — we took that money and used it to expand Section 8, the federal program that helps low-income families find affordable housing? NETWORK Lobby judges all legislation by how it would affect people experiencing poverty. If Speaker Ryan is serious about this issue, we encourage him to use the same criteria.

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore. 

Advent Reflection: Waiting for the One Who Brings Life Abundantly

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Advent Reflection:
Waiting for the One who Brings Life Abundantly

Lucas Allen
December 13, 2016

The season of Advent is full of hope and anticipation for the birth of Jesus, who “came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus models this abundant life by healing the sick with boundless compassion, especially for those experiencing poverty or exclusion.

Jesus’s healing example also calls me to imagine what our country and healthcare system could be if we took this message of abundant life and boundless compassion to heart. For our society to have life and have it abundantly, health must be a universal right, not a consumer good or a privilege for those who can afford it. Financial circumstances, zip code, race, ethnicity, or other factors should not influence access to life-saving medical care. A life-affirming healthcare system would provide universal coverage for the common good, with special concern for people who are vulnerable.

In this season of hope, it must be noted that our country has been moving closer to this vision. Never before have so many Americans had health insurance; in 2015 we achieved the lowest uninsured rate and the lowest child uninsured rate in history. Programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act have created a preferential option for those who would be left without care in a purely market-oriented health system. My family and I have known the fear of rising medical expenses and have benefited from these policies that lead to a healthier society.

As Jesus announced his arrival to John the Baptist saying: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear” (Matthew 11:5), maybe our progress in living out His teachings should be measured by whether those experiencing poverty or sickness have access to care as a fundamental right. This is the nation I hope for, and the one we are pushing for at NETWORK: one that extends Jesus’s healing touch to all.

So while I wait in hope for the humble birth of the one who came that we might have abundant life, I remain cognizant of the injustices that keep those born into poverty today from enjoying healthy, abundant life. At this crucial time, I remain hopeful that we will resist the path of putting profit over people and choose Jesus’s path of abundant life.

ACA Replacement Takes Us Farther from Healthcare for All

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ACA Replacement Takes Us Farther from Healthcare for All

Lucas Allen
January 26, 2017

Over the past few weeks, members of Congress have heard our voices loud and clear. Thanks to over 10,000 calls from NETWORK members and people of faith in all 50 states, Senators know that it is not okay to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a replacement in place. Such a move would recklessly play politics with people’s lives and threaten access to healthcare for millions of Americans with no reassurance of an adequate replacement.

We are grateful that many Republican Senators have spoken out and urged their party to come up with a replacement plan before they repeal the ACA. Our calls and engagement helped make this happen. Last week, we met with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and appreciate her role as a voice of reason reigning in partisanship and ideological extremism to search for common ground. On Monday, Senator Collins and Senator Cassidy (R-LA) introduced the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 to advance the conversation of how to constructively move the discussion forward.

While we welcome the replacement proposal, we have said from the start that any replacement must be suitable and build on the progress of the ACA. We would only support a replacement or reform that is equitable, insures just as many or more Americans, and is more affordable for people. Our faith teaches that healthcare is a human right, and we would not support any replacement plan that takes coverage away from people or leaves people experiencing poverty or sickness out in the cold.

The ACA has provided over 20 million Americans with access to healthcare, promoted racial and gender equity in our healthcare system, and improved the lives and quality of coverage of many more. More Americans have health insurance than at any point in our nation’s history, and now is not the time to go backward. While we are glad that Senate Republicans have proposed a plan, the so-called Patient Freedom Act does not meet our criteria for a replacement we could support. It does not take care of those at the economic margins of our society, and many people covered under the ACA would not be able to keep their coverage. More people would be left without access to quality, affordable healthcare.

We call on Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell to slow down their fast-track process of repealing the ACA and to give the American people the time they deserve to examine the best way forward. This healthcare policy will impact almost every family and will have even greater implications for those experiencing poverty and vulnerability, so we owe it to all of our sisters and brothers to take a look at this policy, analyze it, and have our voices heard. We also call on you, our partners and fellow advocates, to share your story and perspective with us and with your elected officials.

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